One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Synonyms of reduce in English:
reduce
See definition of reduce
verb
1‘the aim is to reduce pollution’
lessen, make less, make smaller, lower, bring down, decrease, turn down, diminish, take the edge off, minimize
shrink, narrow, contract, shorten, foreshorten, truncate, taper, close, abbreviate, condense, concentrate, abridge
deplete, axe, cut, cut back, cut down, make cutbacks in, scale down, trim, slim, slim down, prune, chop, curtail, limit
moderate, lighten, ease, dilute, mitigate, commute, qualify, alleviate, relax, abate
amortize
increase, enlarge
2‘he succeeded in reducing her to tears’
bring to, bring to the point of, force into, drive into
3‘he was jailed for five years and reduced to the ranks’
demote, downgrade, lower, lower in rank, lower in status
abase, humble, demean, belittle, humiliate, bring low
North American informal bust
promote
4‘ribs of beef have been reduced to £1.88 a pound’
make cheaper, lower the price of, cut in price, lower in price, cheapen, cut, mark down, discount, put on sale, offer at a giveaway price
informal slash, knock down
put up
Phrases
impoverished, in straitened circumstances, ruined, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent
poor, indigent, penurious, impecunious, in penury, moneyless, without a sou, as poor as a church mouse, poverty-stricken, destitute, necessitous
needy, in need, in want, badly off, hard up, on one's beam-ends, unable to make ends meet, underprivileged
on the breadline, without a penny, without a penny to one's name
broke, flat broke, cleaned out, strapped for cash, strapped, on one's uppers
stony broke, skint, without two pennies to rub together, without two farthings to rub together, without two brass farthings to rub together, in Queer Street
stone broke
pauperized, beggared